Fantasy Garden Play Spaces for Kids and Adults

Now that it has warmed up, I’m thinking of my garden again. My husband keeps reminding me that it desperately needs weeding. My old neighbor taught me this trick of sliding an old paring knife to the tap root. It works better than the weeding tool I used to use.

Still, I’d rather think about fantasy garden play spaces for kids and adults than about all those weeds!

My fantasy started when I saw this sideshow from Dwell that made me drool about garden play spaces for kids. They suggest adding hills, stumps, boulders, dens, gates to nowhere, and loose extra materials to make the most awesome garden for kid sized adventures.

We are going to get rid of a tree to get more sunlight into our dark backyard. I’ll have to remember to get someone to slice disks for playing with. An old stump as holder would be amazing too!

images from Dwell

At Home with Ali used Frances Hodgson Burnett’s A Secret Garden as inspiration to create a little oasis. She’s right. You only need a small carved out space for a secret hideaway!

Living dens or tepees are part of my fantasy! Patti’s Nursery School combines pole beans that need trellising with a hidden play area. Now that is practical and fun!

I’d include garden and patio furniture to create a distinct garden room. It would be a nice place to relax while watching the kids play.

Image from Traditional Home

Image from Traditional Home

Image from Pam Penick’s actual garden

Is my fantasy inspiring you to rethink your garden space or remind you of your weeds? I hope it’s a garden room or play space! As for me, I’m off to weed! And dream!

Hi Barbara,
I’m not fond of weeding either. I love the versatility of stumps too! Usually, they get ground out when a tree comes out and it costs a lot of extra money to get rid of the stump. It’s nice to be able to incorporate it as a design feature. I guess you need a path of trees to remove though.Pragmatic Mom recently posted…Fantasy Garden Play Spaces for Kids and Adults

Hi MaryAnne,
Your organic garden looks great too! How is that going? Looks like the black pepper is working. It’s nice to have old trees in the yard! Like a gift from previous owners!Pragmatic Mom recently posted…Fantasy Garden Play Spaces for Kids and Adults

Drooling is right. I especially love the little secret areas- and it seems like it really wouldn’t be all that hard to fashion a couple around the yard from different things. Thanks for the inspiration. I need to get to weeding as well. Ew.Artchoo recently posted…DIY Puppet Theater with Smart-Fab

thanks for the truly dreamy post. Oh these pictures and ideas are just wonderful. One day (hopefully soon) when we are grand parents, I hope to use a few of these ideas in our yard. Also thinking how we could integrate garden play onto our preschool play ground. thanks!melissa recently posted…Pre-historic Preschool – Dinosaur Days

Hi Melissa,
Oh, what a wonderful idea. A garden planned for the grandkids! That would be fun! And a preschool would definitely get a lot of use out of any of the features. What a great idea! I wish our preschools had more natural elements built in.Pragmatic Mom recently posted…Fantasy Garden Play Spaces for Kids and Adults

Oh weeding is easy here. My husband just takes the lawn mower and mows it all down. Now if only if he would finish all that weeding already…they’ve gotten real high and refuses to hire someone to do the “weeding”. Keeps saying he’s going to finish it up. In the meantime we can make our own play spaces between the weeds.

Hi Renee C.,
I am hoping that if I did the pole bean tepee, beans would be more popular at dinner too! It would be a fun feature in a garden too! I don’t have the right space for it yet, but I’m going to file it away for the future.Pragmatic Mom recently posted…K’NEX Competition with Prizes: A Fun Summer Project!

Great inspiration! A secret hide-away…I used to have many of them as a kid, we lived in a big, old house of my nana’s and the garden was just incredible. Now, when we are in PL, we spend a lot of time in my parents’ house, which is in a forest so the kids can enjoy a little different type of nature as I did, but they still seem to love it! 🙂Alexandra recently posted…Tech-Loving Moms: One Step Ahead – Guest Post

Hi Alexandra,
How wonderful to have grown up with a secret garden hideaway. Where is PL? How wonderful your kids have a forest to play in at their grandparents’ house. I take my kids to play in the forest at the dog trail with is around a reservoir. Nature is a wonderful laboratory for curiosity and play!Pragmatic Mom recently posted…K’NEX Competition with Prizes: A Fun Summer Project!

Hi Ann,
I’m looking forward to seeing your garden after you add in a kids’ space. Me too! I want to add in a kids space but I don’t have room in my back yard so I will have to get creative.Pragmatic Mom recently posted…Three “Banned” Books Your Children Must Read